Editing Temperate rainforest (section)

====Valdivian and Magellanic temperate rainforests====
{{main|Valdivian temperate rainforests|Magellanic subpolar forests}}
[[File:Bosque de olivillo en Punta Curinanco.jpg|thumb|''[[Aextoxicon punctatum]]'' forest in [[Punta Curiñanco]]]]
The temperate rainforests of [[South America]] are located on the Pacific coast of southern [[Chile]], on the west-facing slopes of the southern Chilean coast range, and the [[Andes Mountains]] in both Chile and Western [[Argentina]] down to the southern tip of South America, and are part of the [[Neotropical realm]]. Temperate rainforests occur in the [[Valdivian temperate rain forests]] and [[Magellanic subpolar forests]] ecoregions. The Valdivian rainforests are home to a variety of broadleaf evergreen trees, like ''[[Aextoxicon punctatum]]'', ''[[Eucryphia cordifolia]]'', and [[southern beech]] (''Nothofagus''), but include many [[conifers]] as well, notably [[Fitzroya|Alerce]] (''Fitzroya cupressoides''), one of the largest tree species of the world.

The Valdivian and Magellanic temperate rainforests are the only temperate rainforests in South America. Together they are the second largest in the world, after the Pacific temperate rainforests of North America. The Valdivian forests are a refuge for the [[Antarctic flora]], and share many plant families and genera with the temperate rainforests of [[New Zealand]], [[Tasmania]], and [[Australia]]. Fully half the species of woody plants are [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to this ecoregion.

In the Valdivian region the Andean Cordillera intercepts moist westerly winds along the Pacific coast during winter and summer months; these winds cool as they ascend the mountains, creating heavy rainfall on the mountains' west-facing slopes. The northward-flowing oceanic Humboldt Current creates humid and foggy conditions near the coast. The tree line is at about 2,400&nbsp;m in the northern part of the ecoregion (35°S), and descends to 1,000&nbsp;m in the south of the [[Los Ríos Region|Valdivian region]]. In the summer the temperature can climb to {{convert|16.5|C|abbr=on}}, while during winter the temperature can drop below {{convert|7|C|abbr=on}}.<ref>Di Castri, F and Hajek, E. (1976) [https://web.archive.org/web/20080411125445/http://svsch.ceachile.cl/biblioteca_archivos/Bioclimatologia%20de%20Chile.pdf "Bioclimatología de Chile"], 163 pages with English summary, Catholic University of Chile.</ref>